Compassionate | Person Centered | Judgement Free
Now that’s good medicine
Welcome to Riverside Family Medicine
Riverside Family Medicine is a Direct Primary Care in upstate New York clinic that was founded to provide wholistic*, accessible, and patient centered primary care with behavioral health integration. Dr. Colt St. Amand, a psychologist and Family Medicine physician, dreamed of and founded this practice in 2025.
Following in the footsteps of his psychologist father and gynecologist mother who ran their own private practices in a small town in Texas, Dr. Colt is passionate about making sure patients receive the best care possible. His background is at the nexus of mental health** and medicine*** which informs his careful, compassionate, and judgement free treatment of patients from all walks of life.
Using the Direct Primary Care (DPC) model, we eliminate third-party insurance billing, offer transparent pricing, longer patient visits, shorter wait times, and direct access to your doctor. This ensures high-quality healthcare without the barriers of traditional insurance or corporate-style health networks. In short, at Riverside Family Medicine, you are an important patient, not a number or ‘just another file’.
*Wholistic: Emphasizes the interconnectedness and harmony of all aspects of life, including the individual, their community, and the environment. This term respects Indigenous ways of knowing, understanding, being, and doing. Holistic: Focuses on treating the whole person, considering their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
**PhD in Clinical Psychology
***MD trained in Family Medicine at the Mayo Clinic
Explore what we offer
Riverside Family Medicine utilizes the innovative DPC model where doctors partner directly with their patients to provide comprehensive primary care services - including behavioral health - for a flat, no surprises, monthly membership fee. Dr. Colt chose this model in order for patients to be able to spend more time with their providers, schedule them more quickly, protect their privacy, and offer more transparency in healthcare costs. While our clinic is located in upstate New York, we are also able to provide telehealth services to adults located in Texas and Minnesota.
Using DPC, we are able to spend more time on what matters most to patients instead of filing paperwork, checking boxes, and documentation for insurance companies and government agencies. At Riverside Family Medicine, you will be treated as the most important member of your healthcare team, and never as just a number.
We manage most common health issues including diabetes, high blood pressure, sexually transmitted infections such as chlamydia and HPV, offer various options for contraception, provide PrEP HIV prophylaxis, and treat mental health conditions.
Our Mission
To provide sustainable, trauma informed, person-in-community centered, and accessible healthcare to underserved rural communities, especially those disproportionately affected by HIV, STIs, and hepatitis, by bridging conventional evidence based medicine and Indigenous traditional medicine. We strive to heal the earth as the earth heals us.
Reimagining Health Equity Fund
F.A.Q
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YES if you are located ANYWHERE in the state of New York, Minnesota, or Texas at the time of the visit, we can meet through telehealth for many health concerns. Depending on your concern, we may recommend that you are seen for an in person visit. Unfortunately, we are not able to provide telemedicine services for patients located outside of New York, Texas, or Minnesota at time of your visit.
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You pay an enrollment fee, and a monthly membership fee. This gives you uncapped access to your doctor, priority visit scheduling, no copays, help with care, and connection to community resources. Membership is available to New Yorkers at this time. Non-member services are available to patients in New York, Minnesota, and Texas.
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No, we will be paid by you, not your insurance company. This helps us to spend more time with our patients, keep their private health information private, and focus on taking the best possible care of them. We accept all patients: insured, Medicare, uninsured, etc. We just don’t bill these third parties. Patients with Medicare/Medicaid need only to sign a waiver declaring that neither you nor your doctor will ever directly bill Medicare or Medicaid for our services. Insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid will still cover any laboratory testing, imaging, medications, or hospitalizations prescribed by our office. By being free from insurance, Medicaid, and Medicare this allows providers more time with patients. You receive the care you deserve and need. Decisions about your health are made between you and your doctor.
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Yes, you should still have some type of medical insurance or medical cost-sharing for any labs, imaging, medications, specialist consultations, or hospitalizations that you may require. It is good to have health insurance for the big things like cancer, heart attacks, and car wrecks. Patients are encouraged to have at least a catastrophic (i.e., low premium/high deductible) medical plan.
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DPC doctors are considered an out of network provider. You’ll want to ask if an out of network provider orders labs, imaging, referrals or medications, will that service still be covered. If you want to describe what the type of practice this is, you can describe it as:
Direct Primary Care
an affordable Concierge Practice
a Membership Model Practice -
Your monthly fee does NOT count toward your medical insurance deductible. Some patients have Health Savings Accounts or Flexible Spending Accounts which may allow for your monthly fees or specialized service costs to be paid with pre-tax dollars. You should check with your specific plan or tax accountant to find out if this applies in your case.
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Unfortunately, no. Being a member of this practice will not count toward the ACA requirements. You can consider getting a low premium, high deductible plan to pair with our practice for the most economical way for your overall care.
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We maintain scrupulous standards of privacy. We are never obligated to provide any third party with a copy of your records, unless you specifically ask that we do so. This is one of the many benefits of a DPC practice.
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Naturally we provide such care– yet another freedom we enjoy together as a result of our independence from the restrictions of third-party payment. Because we know you well, we can streamline your care when you’re sick away from home. In the age of telemedicine, some illnesses can be diagnosed and treated with a simple conversation by phone or quick video visit. We’ll work with you to locate the nearest pharmacy and order medications as appropriate for your present circumstances.
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Of course. Not all problems require a trip to the office. In fact our focus is to work closely with you to help you live your best possible life. We want to partner with you and work on preventing and reversing disease before it becomes active with symptoms. We will develop a personalized health plan for you and partner with you to achieve your wellness goals. We will meet you where you are in your wellness journey and support you in a personable, non-judgmental manner as you make positive changes.
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Yes. Dr. Colt is only one person. There is a balance of what a human being can do to provide optimal care and remain healthy. So, in order for our providers to have time and flexibility for each patient, enrollment will be limited.
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Unless there is an emergency, we will notify you ahead of time when upcoming vacations and away-times are, so that you can plan to be seen and have all your needs addressed before your provider leaves.
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Visit our Contact page to get started!
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If you live in Texas or Minnesota, Dr. Colt is licensed in those states and may be able to provide telehealth services to you. Contact us and let’s figure out how we can help!